Flags of Convenience:
The largest shipping registries are Panama, Liberia, Greece, Marshall Islands and the Bahamas,
Approximately 6,300 sail under the Panamanian flag, making Panama the largest. The Greek-controlled fleet is at almost 90 million gross tons.
The Marshall Islands is fourth with 1, 500 vessels and 37 million tons. Bahamas has 1,500 vessels at 27 million tons.
Other significant flags include Cyprus and Malta

31.10.11

Schelde Trader, on charter to Maersk Line ran aground in the Bay of Plenty, just three weeks after the Rena hit the Astrolabe Reef, a second container ship. Preliminary assessments indicate that a mechanical failure caused the loss of power, which then resulted in a loss of steering. The container vessel was leaving the harbour after having come in to refuel on its way from Auckland to Noumea.The harbour passage was not a difficult route to pilot. "I wouldn't have thought it was a difficult harbour to navigate. "

27.10.11

Has Iceberg 1 been released? AP has retracted its noticeIceberg I (12-2007)IMO: 7429102according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence is associated with Azal Shipping & Trading of Dubai.Azal Contracting & Oil Services Corp. is a private firm with many activities specialized in different field of services and investment . AZAL utilizes both its assets and resources efficiently and takes full and early advantages of technical advances and markets needs. Our philosophy is based on blending individuals to form strategic partnerships with multinational corporations.. The ISO 9002 accreditation is a clear signal to our valued clients that Azal Blue Bell Shipping provides a consistently reliable quality services.

25.10.11

164 tonnes of heavy fuel oil has been pumped from Rena on to the barge Awanuia.

This means 645 tonnes of the 1370 tonnes thought to be left on the ship has been pumped. . But for the little blue penguins of Mount Maunganui this is breeding season, and the timing of the Rena oil spill in the Bay of Plenty could not have been much worse.

Locals put the number of breeding pairs of little blues penguins in this area at around 200 to 300; and the population now has the full attention of a team from Maritime New Zealand's National Oiled Wildlife Recovery unit, monitoring their burrows daily to help the birds survive this environmental disaster.

Whilst these nocturnal penguins may not appreciate such close attention as they incubate their eggs, the monitoring is critical. The penguins come ashore during the evening to find their burrows, and many are becoming oiled crossing rocks covered in thick tar-like oil.

"If a penguin becomes oiled and tries to preen itself, it can swallow the oil and become very sick. If we find a bird that is heavily oiled, we collect it and take it back to the wildlife recovery centre to be cleaned and rehabilitated," explains WWF-New Zealand Marine Programme Manager Rebecca Bird, one of 140 field staff working as part of Maritime New Zealand's oiled wildlife recovery efforts.

Around 120 little blue penguins have been rescued from the mount so far, and their chances of survival are comparatively good - penguins are some of the most resilient birds in recovering from oil spills. But Rebecca and the team are facing a tough choice - removing an oiled bird will give it a chance of survival, but its clutch is unlikely to survive:

"We checked on the pair of little blue penguins in the 'window nest' a couple of nights ago, and the mate was oiled so we had to take him away to the recovery centre to be looked after. Then the next night we found the other penguin was oiled and had to take her away. We hope that the birds we recover will be rehabilitated successfully, but it's heartbreaking to know that saving them means their clutch won't be reared," . Builders are racing to finish aviaries for the long-term care of hundreds of little blue penguins rescued following the oil spill.here

21.10.11

The 44-year-old captain of the ship, Mauro Balomanga, and the 37-year-old officer in charge of navigational watch at the time of the grounding both defendants, yet to enter pleas, were further remanded on bail and are due back in court on November 2.

20.10.11

Salvors are now back on board the vessel Rena carrying out general assessments of the ship's status. A team of three salvors re-boarded the ship this morning, however, swell and weather conditions have not been favourable for restarting pumping of from the ship. "The bow section of Rena is still sitting firmly on the reef, however, movement from the heavy swell and tide action overnight has moved the stern section slightly further to the left. "Booster pumps have now been installed on the vessel Rena and further pumps will also be added to speed up the rate of oil extraction. Salvors will recommence pumping when weather and swell conditions allow this to be done safely.Mauro Balomanga captain and his navigational officer of the stricken ship responsible for the country's largest environmental maritime disaster will remain unshown in New Zealand who appeared before Judge Robert Wolff in Tauranga District Court October 19.

19.10.11

The two large cracks on either side of the ship are connected underneath the hull, but it is still held together through its internal structure. The bulbous section on the hull of the ship was also severely cracked and was being pushed upward as the ship's hull rested on the reef below. here note video

18.10.11

While pumping has been suspended, salvage experts are continuing with other work on board the vessel, such as cleaning out the engine room, getting more equipment on board and creating more work space. The ship is stable and remains in the same condition as it was yesterday - with cracks down each side but is still together in one piece.

17.10.11

BP has reached a $4bn (£2.5bn) settlement with a former partner in its Deepwater Horizon oil rig over claims related to last year's deadly explosion and oil spill at the offshore drilling platform.

Anadarko Petroleum's payment will form part of BP's $20bn compensation trust fund, set up to compensate victims and help pay for the clean-up after the fatal fire that killed 11 people and led to the largest oil spill in US history. Anadarko also agreed to drop its gross negligence claims against BP.

Texas-based Anadarko held a 25% stake in the Macondo well and has agreed to hand that to BP in return for a share of any funds BP recovers from third parties or insurance.

The settlement follows other agreements with Deepwater partners. In May, BP announced an agreement with MOEX Offshore 2007, a unit of Japan's Mitsui which owned 10% of the well. It agreed to pay BP $1bn. The following month Weatherford International, a Switzerland-based contractor that supplied parts to the rig, agreed to pay $75m to the trust fund to settle claims between itself and BP.earlier

The ship would have travelled in a straight line for up to 20 minutes before it struck the Astrolabe Reef off the Bay of Plenty coast at about 2.20am on 5 October. and it is a mystery why evasive action wasn't taken.Decoded transmissions sent by the ship show the vessel took a managed, deliberate turn without on-board navigational charts having been checked. Rena's navigators only used radar recognition of land, and possibly the port entrance beacon to find their way.

Reports that the Rena is breaking up are incorrect. Salvage experts advise that while the Rena is cracked port and starboard, it remains together in one piece and is in the same position as it has been for the past week.

MNZ Salvage Unit Manager Andrew Berry (who today replaces Bruce Anderson as part of a shift rotation) says oil pumping operations are progressing. A booster pump is now in place, which is hoped to begin operation soon.

14.10.11

Liberian-flagged Rena has been stuck for nine days on a reef 14 miles off the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, spilling about 300 tons of heavy toxic fuel and some of its hundreds of containers into the sea."What's holding the vessel together at the moment is the fact she's lying on the reef and some internal structures, companionways, ducting and the like inside the vessel," Maritime NZ spokesman "The ship is supported over part of its bottom and the water is not providing the usual support to the bow and stern so the static forces will be tending to bend the ship. In addition the waves will be causing changing forces that will tend to grow cracks,"photoblog

13.10.11

Repsol has accepted two partners in the venture.Norsk Hydro ASA, Oslo, and ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL), New Delhi, signed an association contract in Havana with Repsol and Cuba’s state company Cubapetroleo SA (Cupet) to explore the blocks. Repsol YPF, which will remain operator, is retaining a 40% stake, and Hydro and OVL each will hold 30%.The gateway for the United States to end or weaken the embargo may be the giant oil rig, the Scarabeo 9, which could be on its way to the Florida Straits from a shipyard in Singapore any day now. The Spanish oil company RepSol is the first of several foreign energy companies scheduled to explore for oil in deep water 50 miles from Key West. A spokesman for Spanish oil company Repsol YPF says a Chinese-made rig is on schedule to arrive off Cuba and begin drilling before the end of the year.

He says the project's schedule has always been based on a window of time during which the rig was expected to arrive, and it's impossible to predict exact dates for such a complex undertaking.

Rix said Thursday that the Scarabeo-9 is still on track to arrive and begin operations within that window.Following the acquisition of several engineering companies over the last years, most prominently of Snamprogetti, Bouygues Offshore and Sofresid, the new Business Unit Saipem Onshore has become one of the world’s largest engineering and construction companies, serving primarily the oil & gas, refining and petrochemical markets as well as a number of diversified industrial ones, such as environment, infrastructure, marine terminals, etc.More than 30 House lawmakers are urging Spanish energy company Repsol YPF S.A. (REP.MC) to abandon its plan to drill for oil in Cuban waters, saying such a move will bolster the financial strength of the Castro regime and could expose Repsol to criminal and civil liabilities in U.S. courts.

In a letter sent to Repsol’s chairman this week, the lawmakers say they “urge Repsol to reassess the risks inherent in partnering with the Castro dictatorship, including the risk to its commercial interests with the United States.”

Repsol spokesman Kristian Rix said the company “is abiding by U.S. embargo legislation, and our drilling plans are in accordance with” safety standards put in place after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Opposition to Repsol’s drilling plans ramped up in recent weeks, as the Spanish company prepares to begin drilling off Cuba’s north coast by the end of the year. A Chinese-built drilling rig that Repsol will use for the project is currently en route from Singapore to Cuba.

88 containers have been reported as fallen from the ship. Members of the public should not touch containers that reach the shore, or any of the goods that have come free from the containers. Officials had feared that a large crack in the ship’s hull indicated it was about to split in two but said at a news briefing on October 13 that a breakup was not considered imminent, although it remained a dangerous possibility. Mauro Balomanga, the ship’s captain, a 44-year-old Filipino man, was arrested October 12.

12.10.11

Rena's captain had been charged under section 65 of the Maritime Transport Act. He faces a fine of $7,800 (£5,000) or a maximum prison sentence of 12 months if convicted.

More charges were likely, MNZ said.

He appeared at a court in Tauranga on Wednesday morning and was granted bail for one week, when he is next due in court.

Judge Robert Wolff granted his lawyer's request that the captain's name be suppressed because people "might want to take matters into their own hands".

The captain's passport has been confiscated and he is to remain at a nominated address approved by the prosecutors and make daily reports to a local police station subject to the needs of the salvage operation.

It is not clear how the vessel ran aground on a well-marked reef in calm weather.

The second officer of the stricken ship Rena has been charged. The man, who was in charge of the navigational watch of the vessel, will face a charge of operating a vessel in a manner causing unnecessary danger or risk in Tauranga District Court October 13).

4.07pm: Prime Minister John Key has announced the stricken Rena cargo ship has "stress fractures" in its hull and may break up.

11.10.11

They boarded the 56,000-ton bulk carrier Montecristo and disarmed the pirates without encountering any opposition. USS De Wert was the first NATO warship to reach MV Montecristo and assessed the situation while the NATO boarding team was getting ready to intervene. British Marines, armed with pistols and SA-80 automatic rifles and operating from a Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship, the RFA Fort Victoria, sped towards the hijacked ship in inflatable boats as a British helicopter buzzed overhead.

“It was a compliant boarding — the 11 pirates surrendered without firing a shot,” said a Ministry of Defence spokesman. “They were arrested and detained on board the ship.” The ship’s 23 crew – seven Italians, six Ukrainians and 10 Indians — were released unharmed.

Four of the Italians were privately-contracted security guards, but in line with international practise they were unarmed and had been powerless to fend off the pirates.

D’Alesio officials explain that when the Montecristo came under attack, it was being escorted by a Japanese navy vessel. The pirates pounced when the Italian ship reached the Indian Ocean and the Japanese vessel moved off. The Montecristo had sailed from Liverpool and was taking a cargo of iron to Vietnam. The vessel’s captain is Venice-born Diego Scussat. Two of the other Italians on board are the deck officer, Stefano Mariotti, and officer cadet Luca Giglioli, the son of a D’Alesio Group employee.

Following the passage of Japan’s Law on Punishment and Measures against Acts of Piracy on July 24, 2009, its Self-Defense Force started vessel-escorting operations in the Gulf of Aden not only for Japanese vessels but also for all foreign vessels.”

“The legislation enables units of Japan’s Self-Defense Force (including P-3C patrol aircraft) to protect vessels from acts of piracy, complimenting other efforts made globally to ensure safe passage for ships off the coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden,” Japanese MSDF anti-piracy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bjW_OyMZ5Q&feature=player_embeddedmore

10.10.11

Somali pirates on Monday hijacked an Antonio D’Alesio bulker, who with his brother Nello has been at the helm of the D’Alesio Group for over forty years. 9325025 MONTECRISTO 9HA2348 Bulker 180263 2005Bulk carrier with transom stern, strengthened double bottom. Five cargo holds. Five pairs of water ballast tanks. Builder Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co., Ltd – South Corea Delivery June 2011Pirates hijacked the Italian-flagged Montecristo, some 620 nautical miles (1,148 kilometers) from the Somali coast.

. "The Vessel was hijacked on Oct. 10 in Gulf of Aden or further to the east at about 0700, no communications after that. Crew are 23, 7 Italians, 10 Ukrainians, 6 Indians," Dalmare said in a statement posted on the firm's website.

Montecristo was on heading to Vietnam which it came under attack approximately 450 nautical miles Northwest of Socotra, Yemen.

An investigation will consider whether the captain of a stricken cargo ship had been drinking when the vessel ran aground off Tauranga, Transport Minister Steven Joyce says.

The Liberian-flagged Rena was carrying about 1700 tonnes of heavy fuel oil and about 70 tonnes of marine diesel when it struck the Astrolabe Reef at top speed on October 5.The course the ship should be steering is about three miles to the north of astrolabe reef and there are no obstacles in the way.

He said he would have seen the two flashes of a lighthouse and two white flashes every so many seconds to indicate Mortiti Island.

One possible factor - the ship is believed to not have been equipped with an electronic course plotter, which would have alerted the crew if she strayed from her intended route.

"Our understanding is on the bridge they have radar and they got a GPS that gives them their position and traditional paper charts on the chart table [the equipment] has been enough since World War II and it's kept the port safe."

The ship is put on automatic pilot and a watch keeper monitors the position of the ship and maintains its planned trip.

"He's looking out for the radar. He's looking out through the windows to look for anything that would impede a safe passage."

Lees said an alarm would be sounded when the auto pilot could not keep on course anymore.

But, the reef would not show on the radar because it is too low and there would be no proximity alarms to indicate danger.

9.10.11

Rene: Liberian-flag boxship stranded on Astrolabe Reef off Tauranga NZ. The MV Rena's owners, Greece-based Costamare Inc, said they were "working tirelessly" on the response. .People know about the reef, and for it to plough into it for no particular reason - at night, in calm waters - tells you something terrible has gone wrong Officials say. 20-30 tonnes of oil have spilled into the Bay of Plenty, one of the country's top tourist destinations, since the MV Rena ran aground on October 5. 8806802 RENA A8XJ7 Container Ship 47230 1990Official electronic charts that are considered 'paper equivalent' . at 22 years old this ship may still have been using paper charts,

6.10.11

The market appears to continue to anticipate that at least some of these ocean carriers have a high probability of exiting the market. Several competitors within the sector are trading below book value, and also liquidated valuations, with fear of bankruptcy and/or selling off ships.DryShips, Inc (DRYS)Eagle Bulk Shipping, Inc. (EGLE)Excel Maritime Carriers, Ltd. (EXM)Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd. (GNK)Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. (NM)Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. (OSG)Paragon Shipping Inc. (PRGN)more

The beta of an asset within a portfolio is

\beta_a = \frac {\mathrm{Cov}(r_a,r_p)}{\mathrm{Var}(r_p)},~

where ra measures the rate of return of the asset, rp measures the rate of return of the portfolio, and cov(ra,rp) is the covariance between the rates of return. The portfolio of interest in the CAPM formulation is the market portfolio that contains all risky assets, and so the rp terms in the formula are replaced by rm, the rate of return of the market.

Harrier jets flying from an amphibious carrier off the coast were ready to take a shot if the CIA drone missed. There was even an option for sending in Marine Ospreys with Special Operations Forces to collect any intelligence left after the strike,earlier